Speech: Burial and Cremation Charges

Delivered in the debate held on Thursday 3rd November on the following motion:

That the Parliament acknowledges the recent Citizens Advice Scotland report, The Cost of Saying Goodbye 2016; understands that 2016 has seen the basic cost of burial fees, not including undertaker charges, increase on average by 8% to £1,373 and that cremation charges have increased by an average of 11%; further understands that the costs levied by councils can increase for a number of reasons, including because of substantial investment in new crematoria and graveyards and as a result of tighter budgets; considers that more must be done to address the rising costs of funerals across the country, and recognises what it sees as the high level of anxiety and worry that many people in Mid Scotland and Fife and across Scotland feel about the cost of saying goodbye.